Full guides can set themselves to be invulnerable at will. They often do not because of the perfect faction you mentioned.

Apprentice Guides cannot set themselves invulnerable, and I don't think they have perfect faction, either. They're restricted from going into zones that a PC of their same level would not ordinarily be allowed to go.

No, all Guides even apprentices are non-kos to ALL Mobs everywhere. As an apprentice you aren't supposed to go into dungeons at all. You are to walk the lands, answering petitions and helping players. But there are some zones you aren't supposed to go into at -all-.

Every Full Guide is given tools, one being an item you can click to be invulnerable. It comes in handy sometimes, say when jumping from the spires, or top of Kelethin *grins* But it's not needed most of the time.

It's also against the rules to engage in combat with any monster.

Guides have to work pretty hard to get killed. It's fun trying, though! I think the comic is hilarious. *grins*

Funny thing about the invuln tag. If anyone is interested in hearing how it got started. If not stop reading here.

There once was a GM on rallos zek. He ended up becoming kind of a challange. There was a certain druid who would hunt him down, and attack him wherever he could find him. This went on for months and monts. The druid stoped adventuring, and made his life attacking this guide. After a while it became a sport. The GM had told to many people that he would not ban them for attacking him, and The GM asailents multiplied. He began to spend more time dead than helping people with problems. There was even a rumor that someone looted a GM item, refused to give it back and was consequently baned. Supposedly shortly thereafter GM items were made no drop.

Its really of no use on a PvM server, but on one that PvP is a way of life it lets the gm laugh at people rather than resort to drastic measures.

Actually all the Guide items have a "radioactive" tag on them.. you can't see it, but supposedly if a non-guide flagged person picks it up, it would insta-kill them. So the story of a PC picking up an item and refusing to give it back seems unlikely.

edit: Also, yes guides are all non-KOS to every mob. However AE spells from mobs will still hit them, thus adding them to the monsters hate list. So the mob can then turn on them and attack them. Guides really can't defend themselves. Those flashy swords you see them wielding? Heck you'd be better off with a rusty sword. Only thing they could do is /kill, and if you do that on a level 50+ mob you can get into some big trouble. If a particular Guide or GM came under fire, he should have zoned out or used the invulnerable ring, which only lasts for like 30 seconds.